Drowned: Zainab Yusuf, who died in a swimming pool at a gym after wandering off from her parents '
A toddler drowned following a family swimming session at a private sports club.
Twenty-two-month-old Zainab Yusuf is feared to have wandered off and fallen into the pool while her mother and father were in the changing rooms with her six-month-old sister, Zarah.
Her father Zakary Yusuf, a company secretary, and his wife Princess, a sales manager, were said to have been hysterical as a paramedic battled to save their daughter.
She was later pronounced dead at hospital.
The family were at the Esporta health club at Salford Quays, near the BBC’s new northern headquarters.
It is believed the family may have left the pool and gone to the changing room when Zainab wandered off and fell into the water, which is understood to be a maximum of 4ft deep.
Gym member Paul Bowden said a doctor, who had been working out at the gym, tried to revive the toddler.
Tragic accident: A 20-month-old girl drowned in the pool at the Esporta fitness centre at the Lowry Outlet Mall in Salford Quays, Greater Manchester (pictured)
Closed: The Esporta club at Salford Quays was closed on Sunday to allow for investigation to take place - it will remain closed throughout Monday'
Mr Bowder said that the girl was first spotted at around 4.40pm on Sunday before she was passed to a paramedic who administered oxygen.
‘The distance from the pool to the changing rooms is very short and it is just an opening, not a door,’ he said.
Last night, as an investigation into Zainab’s death was launched, her parents, who live in nearby Ordsall, paid tribute to their daughter.
Mr Yusuf said: ‘Zainab was such a happy child, bright and loving, with a smile that could light up a room. Zainab could never be replaced and will always be in our hearts.’
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: ‘An investigation is ongoing but there are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances.’
An Esporta spokesperson said: 'We can confirm that, due to a serious incident, the Esporta club at Salford Quays was closed on Sunday to allow for investigation to take place - it will remain closed throughout Monday.
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